198 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



lence in freeing the lungs from thick and 

 viscid phlegm. Camerarius, in his Hortus 

 Medians, affirms that it is so beneficial in 

 disorders of the thorax, that some give a 

 scruple and a half of it with half a grain of 

 musk, to be drunk in warm wine, as a cure 

 for the asthma. He also affirms, that it 

 greatly contributes to remove the effects of a 

 perspiration obstructed by cold. Hersdt, in 

 his Crocologia, recommends the following 

 preparation as a specific in the jaundice : 

 " Take of malmsey wine, one pint; the yolks 

 of two eggs ; one dram of saffron : mix all 

 together. One .half of this preparation to 

 be taken at night, when going to bed, and 

 the other in the morning." 



Saffron was in great demand before Vacci- 

 nation had so nearly banished that pest of 

 the health and beauty of the human face, 

 the Small-pox; as it is said to be a medi- 

 cine of uncommon service in promoting the 

 eruption of that terrible disease. Ray says, it 

 was formerly suspended in small bags under 

 the chin and throat of those who suffered 

 from that complaint, for dissipating putrid 

 and venomous matter, lest, stagnating in the 

 parts, it should excite an inflammation, and 

 strangle the patient. 



